Northern Ireland v Netherlands

FACTFILE NETHERLANDS Words Liam Blackburn

INTERNATIONAL

with two extra-time goals. » » The team went through a transitional period thereafter, missing three successive tournaments between 1982 and 1986 before coming back with a bang at Euro 1988 when old coach Michels returned to lead the team. » » After losing their first game of the tournament to the Soviet Union, Van Basten scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over England, which preceded a 1-0 victory against the Republic of Ireland. » » Van Basten scored a last-gasp winner in the semi- final against West Germany to set up a rematch with the Soviets in the final. Captain Ruud Gullit put Netherlands ahead before Van Basten scored one of the finest goals of all time, arrowing a volley into the far corner from a seemingly impossible angle for his fifth goal of the tournament. » » Since then Netherlands have been knocked out of the Euros at the semi-final stage on three separate occasions, in 1992, 2000 and 2004. At the World Cup they made the last four in 1998 – after Bergkamp scored a glorious late goal in the quarter-finals against Argentina – only to be beaten by Brazil on penalties. They then reached the final again in 2010, where Andres Iniesta scored an extra- time winner for Spain in South Africa. » » Netherlands exacted a measure of revenge with a 5-1 thrashing of Spain in the first game of the 2014 World Cup, but a fourth final appearance proved beyond them as they lost to Argentina on penalties in the semi-finals. » » The Dutch were the opponents for Michael O'Neill's second match in charge, when the Oranje won 6-0 in their final friendly before Euro 2012, with last month's heartbreaking 3-1 loss in Rotterdam a sign of how far the boys in green and white have come since. » » Northern Ireland's only win over Netherlands in their previous seven meetings came in 1965 when Terry Neill and Johnny Crossan scored in a 2-1 victory in Belfast that saw an 18-year-old George Best win his seventh cap. » » Eleven years later Northern Ireland claimed a 2-2 draw in Rotterdam, with Best's final international appearance coming in the reverse fixture in Belfast in 1977. Cruyff skippered the Dutch side to a 1-0 victory on that occasion.

» » They may have a population smaller than Guatemala and Romania but few nations have had a bigger impact on world football than Netherlands. » » Their unmistakable bright orange kits conjure up memories of Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp. Great players, great skill and great goals. » » Yet in recent years the Oranje have been absent from tournament finals. Netherlands did not qualify for Euro 2016 – the first time they had missed a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup – and two years later they failed to qualify for the World Cup. » » With the country's most-capped player Wesley Sneijder, and others such as Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben, having called time on their international careers in recent years Netherlands have looked to rebuild. » » Now, under the guidance of Ronald Koeman, a team featuring the imperious Virgil van Dijk, as well as emerging stars such as Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, appear primed to be a major force on the world stage once again. » » The Dutch were bronze medal winners at three Olympic Games in the early part of the 1900s, but it was in the 1970s, under Rinus Michels, when Netherlands really announced themselves as one of the game's superpowers. » » They enjoyed great success using a 'total football' philosophy - the idea that outfield players are so versatile and skilled that they are interchangeable. Michels had played for Ajax earlier in his career, and the brilliance of Cruyff meant the system was particularly effective when he was in charge of Netherlands. » » Ajax won three European Cups at the start of the 1970s so it was no surprise that Netherlands impressed at the World Cup in 1974, beating Brazil and Argentina on their way to the final. » » However, Cruyff, then with Barcelona, would end up on the losing side as West Germany won 2-1. » » After finishing third at the European Championship two years later, Netherlands returned to the World Cup final in 1978, though Cruyff had retired from international duty by that point. » » Yet again the Oranje - now coached by Austrian legend Ernst Happel - would experience final disappointment as this time hosts Argentina won

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